


Jump Around

by olgushka



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 14:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8582728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olgushka/pseuds/olgushka
Summary: Tyler’s piano jump ends up badly.





	

Tyler is happy. He’s happy because they’re not even the headliner this time and people sing back to him like it’s their own, individual show. 

He climbs on the top of the audience and they hold him so carefully and steady that he wants to sing the whole song like that. He climbs back onto the stage and grins, more to himself than anyone else, he sings and raps and gives Josh a shout out. The crowd sings back the _entertain my faith_ part like their lives depend on it and when it’s time, he jumps on the piano, does his little dance and waits for the drummer to join him to do the backflip. He goes crazy on the stage during the last _lean with it, rock with it_ and then runs back to his piano at full speed, jumps on and off the instrument, spins in the air and lands with a stool between his legs, like he always does. 

But this time his foot slips and if the stool wasn’t there, his ass would be hitting the hard stage floor right now. In the same exact moment when he loses his balance, he feels his knee crack. The pain shoots right through him but he’s so high on the adrenaline that he ignores it and sings the last chorus of _Holding Onto You_ and finishes the song. But after that, he can’t move and there’s a painful pulsing sensation in his knee.

He panics. The crowd keeps cheering and his ears are ringing and he knows he should be getting up to pick up his bass and play _Polarize_ but he can’t and he feels sick and he needs to shut his eyes to stop the stage and the faces in the audience from spinning. He tries to stand up again but the tiniest pressure makes him scowl.

He clutches to the piano frame, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow. The crowd is still cheering but the cheers are getting more and more confused with every passing minute. He doesn’t move an inch and everyone thinks it’s probably another carefully planned part of the show. They wait for him to do something cool but when Josh gets out from behind his drums and quickly crosses the stage and approaches Tyler, they know that this part of the show was definitely not planned.

Josh bends down a little bit and pulls the monitors out of the singer’s ears and speaks to him with a concerned expression on his face, keeping his hands on his shoulders and squeezing them gently. 

„Tyler? What’s going on?” 

„I- I landed wrong.” Tyler stutters, muting his mic and looking at his friend with watering eyes. „There’s something wrong with my k-knee. I can't straighten it, I can’t stand up and it hurts like hell.”

„Okay. Let’s take you backstage.”

„No!” Tyler shakes his head. „We need to finish the show!”

„We will.” Josh says. „The paramedics will take a look at your leg, maybe put some bandages on and we will finish the show, alright?”

„Promise?” 

Tyler looks so small and fragile that Josh wants to take him in his arms and never let go. He helps him stand up but the moment he catches him when Tyler almost collapses to the floor with a scream of pain, he already knows that they won’t be coming back on stage.

„Yeah, I promise.” He lies because he knows how stubborn Tyler can get and also he doesn’t want him to throw a tantrum in front of thousands of people.

They slowly make their way off stage and Josh lowers him down so he can sit down on the stairs that lead to their dressing rooms. They can still hear the loud shouts of the crowd while someone from the crew explains that they need to stop the show for a few minutes.

The paramedics are right next to them before they can blink. A middle-aged woman in a bright red uniform approaches them (her badge says her name is Grace) and asks Tyler questions. He points to his knee, quickly explaining what happened and Grace nods her head. She needs an access to his injured leg but his black skinny jeans don’t make things easier. His cheeks are on fire after unbuttoning his pants and when Josh lifts him up a little bit, putting his strong arms under the singer’s armpits so Tyler can slid down his jeans. Grace tries to help him but every little tug makes him feel like someone is breaking his leg all over again. After a few more minutes of the unnecessary torture, they decide to cut the pants off. When his legs are finally free, Grace takes a look at Tyler’s knee. It’s red and swollen and there’s a weird big bulge in a place where it definitely isn’t supposed to be.

„A dislocation.” The woman says, taking a closer look, without touching the skin. „A bad one, I must say. We need to take you to the hospital to relocate your knee back in place. I can’t do this here. You need an x-ray first just to be sure nothing is broken. I’ll call the driver, he will get the ambulance ready.”

They’re not headlining so cutting the show short doesn’t seem like the end of the world, especially because they have already played most of the songs from their setlist. But for Tyler, _it is_ the end of the world. 

„No… No!” He violently shakes his head and tries to free himself from Josh’s grip when the drummer gets ready to help the paramedics move Tyler to the stretcher. „We need to go back. We need to finish the show.”

„Tyler, you can’t.” Josh says.

„I can. I can do this. Give me some painkillers and an ice-pack and I’ll be fine.”

„Mate...” The other paramedic, a guy (probably the same age as them), sighs and looks down at him. „You can’t even move much right now. What will you do? Jump on one leg until the end of the set? There’s a chance you will damage your knee even more. You’ve already started running a fever, do you want to collapse from pain and exhaustion in front of all these people?” 

Tyler opens his mouth but no sound comes out. His face falls visibly and he looks like he’s ready to burst into tears. He actually does in the end, after he gives up and lets them lay him down on the stretcher. He hides his face behind his hands and shakes while sobs are ripping through his chest. _He failed_.

The sight is heartbreaking. Josh snaps a picture of the injured man and quickly posts it on every social media account he owns, capturing photo with a short text: _This is how Tyler reacted when he got told that he couldn't continue the show. Send him some love. He really needs it_.

Someone hands him a t-shirt and he quickly puts in on as he follows everyone on their way outside. He’s sweaty and he still has his make up on, yet he still climbs to the ambulance after Tyler, insisting that he can’t leave his friend alone. They allow him to stay only because Tyler’s condition is not life-threatening. He shifts closer, pulls Tyler’s hands off his face and looks at the shattered expression on his bandmate’s face.

„It’s okay.” He says. „They will understand.”

Tyler says nothing and turns his head the other way to avoid Josh’s gaze. The ride is quiet and Tyler’s knee swells even more with every minute. Doctors and nurses wheel him to the room somewhere on the third floor of the hospital and shut the big white door behind them, leaving Josh in the hallway.

„You have to wait here, sir.” One of the nurses says and also disappears behind the door. Josh sighs and slumps down onto one of the yellow plastic chairs in the waiting room. He calls Jenna to share the news about her husband and assures her that he’s being taken care of. Then he reads a few leaflets to kill the time.

After what seems like forever, the same nurse emerges from the room, looking around. When she spots Josh, she comes closer and stops right in front of him.

„Sir.”

Josh looks up.

„Yes?”

„We did the x-ray and other diagnostic tests. The bone is not broken and there’s no damage to the cartilage or tendons so we can skip the surgery. But we actually need to relocate the kneecap. The problem is, Mr. Joseph goes into full-on hysterics when the doctor comes anywhere close to his injured leg. Could you help us? Maybe you would be able to distract him a little bit?”

„Yeah, of course. I can try.” He gets up and follows the nurse. „Why don’t you just anaesthetize him?”

„Anesthesia is typically used for kneecap removal surgery. When we're able to move the patella back into its normal position, anesthesia is not needed.”

„Oh.”

Inside the room, he notices a bunch of people in white aprons and Tyler, who's laying down on the bed, propped up on his elbows, sending everyone murderous glares and breathing hard. 

„Hey there.” Josh smiles at him. „A little bird told me that you don’t want to cooperate.”

„They want to pop my kneecap back into place. It’s gonna hurt, Josh. I know it’s gonna hurt.”

„Well… Yeah.” Josh says because hey, they're talking about relocating kneecaps here, not mosquito bites. „But it will hurt only for a little while. They need to do it, Tyler. Otherwise your knee will never heal.” Josh comes closer and stands by the head of the bed. „Lay down. Relax. I’ll stay here with you, okay? You can hold my hand.” Tyler does. He grips Josh’s arm as hard as he can. „It will be over soon. And then we will go back to the hotel and we will order all the unhealthy food they have and we will watch a movie or maybe play _Happy Wheels_. Sounds good?” 

Tyler nods but his eyes never leave the doctor who took a few steps closer to the bed. He gulps and gets ready to freak out again but Josh puts his hand on his cheek and turns his head the other way.

„No, don’t look. Focus on me.” Josh says softly. Tyler looks him straight in the eyes. „That’s it. Tell me something. Tell me about your favorite moment of the show. Did you see anything funny in the crowd? I swear, you’re an expert in spotting all the weird things.”

So Tyler starts to speak. He tells Josh about a group of people in red beanies holding funny signs, about crowd surfers and he recalls the moment when he messed up chords during _Tear In My Heart_ and they had to start the song over. Josh makes sure their eyes are locked and Tyler won’t peek. 

„There was this pink inflatable octopus, did you see that? I’m there singing _Truce_ and there’s a freaking _giant pink octopus_ and I really thought I wouldn’t be able to keep the straight face anym-”

Suddenly a few things happen at once: there's a pair of hands keeping his good thigh still while the other pair grabs his injured leg just above his shin and twists it a little, and there are fingers pushing on the bulge, popping it back in place. And there’s another crack in his bones and he screams like a madman because the pain is back, and he digs his nails into Josh’s arm and Josh pushes hard on his chest and pins him down to the bed so Tyler doesn’t make any sudden moves and doctors can finish their job. 

There are tears rolling down Tyler’s cheeks while he tries to catch his breath. The sweat forms on his forehead and he keeps moaning loudly in pain, repeating _stops_ and _pleases_ and _no mores_ over and over again. When Josh is sure that Tyler won’t punch anyone, he changes his position and loosens his grip on the singer’s chest and starts to stroke his hair.

„It’s over, shh. It’s okay. You were so brave and I’m so proud of you!” He leans down until their cheeks touch and Tyler rests his hand on Josh’s shoulder blades and lets doctors wrap his knee in bandages and put a brace on because he has no strength to fight anymore. 

A nurse pushes a needle in his vein and hooks his arm up to the painkiller IV. Tyler closes his eyes and lets himself drift off while Josh is still embracing him and whispering sweet nothings in his ear. 

„He can rest now. He’ll be free to go in a few hours.” He hears someone say and then he’s out like a light.

 

When he wakes up again, the room is dark and the only light comes from the hallway because the door to his room is wide open. There’s a blanket covering his legs and Josh is sleeping soundly in the chair next to him, with his head on Tyler’s bed, still holding his hand. Mark is there as well, sitting in the corner of the room with his face illuminated by the screen of his phone. He’s typing quickly on the keypad.

Painkillers must have finally kick in because his knee still hurts a little bit but the pain is more bearable now. He rubs his eyes with his free hand.

„What time is it?”

Mark looks up from his phone.

„Almost three in the morning. How are you feeling?”

„Like I _fucked up_ big time.” 

Josh stirs and lifts his head, blinking away the sleep. He turns the bedside lamp on and looks at Tyler. He’s wearing fresh clothes and the make up is gone.

„Hi.” Tyler says.

„I will get the doctor. He said you can leave once you wake up.”

With that, Josh is gone. He comes back with the same doctor who oh, so brutally fixed his knee. He gives Tyler some papers to sign along with two prescriptions for painkillers and also says something that almost sends Tyler into a cardiac arrest.

„As I told your friends earlier, no shows for at least two months.”

„But-” Tyler starts but is too shocked to say anything else. It’s a festival season and they have at least five open-air shows left and then they have a few sold out arenas to play and he wants to argue but Mark is faster.

„We’re in the process of cancelling the summer tour.”

„What?” Tyler whispers because that means no festivals and no individual arena shows.

„Good.” The man nods and looks at Tyler again. „No jumping around or running. Only slow, careful walking. You will need to use a cane or crutches so you don’t put too much weight on your knee. A bed rest is recommended. Unless you want to end up on the surgery table, Mr. Joseph.” He gives Tyler a few more sheets of paper. „You will need to make an appointment with your orthopedist because physical therapy exercises should start as soon as possible. Most people recover fully within six to eight weeks. You can take your brace off for hygenic purposes but remember to put it back on once you’re done.” He takes off his glasses and wipes them with his apron. „Remember to sit with your knee raised several times a day. And ice the area every three to four hours. It will help reduce the swelling. You will find the instructions on the aftercare page.” 

After that, he says his goodbyes and leaves the room. 

Tyler is silent as Josh helps him put his baggy sweatpants on, he’s silent all the way to the car as Mark wheels him out of the hospital, he’s silent when Josh gives him a piggyback ride all the way to his hotel room. He’s upset and he wants to scream. He wants to cry and he wants to punch or break something and he really wants a shower.

„I want a shower.” He says out loud and tries to get up from the sofa where he’s currently sitting on. But he does it too quickly, his vision blurries and he loses his balance. He falls back on his bum with a hiss of pain.

„Careful!” Josh is beside him in the blink of an eye with an angry expression of his face. „You just got out of the hospital, do you want to go back there already?” 

„No. I want a shower.” 

„Fine. Let me help you.”

„I’m not an invalid.”

„Well, you kind of are right now, to be honest.” Josh says. „Stay where you are and don’t even move. I have an idea.”

He leaves the room and disappears for a moment. He comes back with a small metal chair that they can get wet without ruining it.

„I will put this in the cabin. You will shower sitting down.”

„This is ridiculous.” 

„No. This is me preventing your further injuries. This is me trying to help you avoid slipping on the wet surface and destroying your knee even more. Or breaking your other one. Besides, you’re not strong enough to stand on your own for too long on one leg.”

„How would you know.” Tyler mumbles.

„You just proved it two minutes ago.”

„It was nothing.”

Josh rolls his eyes because Tyler can get ridiculously stubborn sometimes. 

„We just cancelled two months of shows. Do you want to cancel more?” Josh looks him straight in the eye. „Do you want to get back on stage anytime soon or not?” 

Tyler’s face falls and that shuts him up. Josh sounds angry. _Too angry_ for Tyler’s liking.

He lets the drummer lead him to the bathroom. He sits down on the chair and Josh puts hygiene products and towels close on the shelf, everything in Tyler’s reach. He also brings crutches that Mark got from God knows where in the middle of the night and after making sure that Tyler will be alright on his own, Josh leaves. 

Tyler showers, dries off and puts his brace back on. He grabs his crutches and moves to the bedroom. It’s difficult, walking like that. The room is silent and Josh is not there anymore. The singer sighs and sinks down on the bed. It’s almost dawn and the sky is getting brighter in the east, he can see it through the window. 

He can’t make himself fall back asleep. He slept in the hospital and there’s an avalanche of thoughts going through his head. And he feels guilty.

He grabs his phone and sends a text message. 

_Are you mad at me?_

_Go to sleep, Tyler_. Josh replies seconds later.

_You’re totally are._

He doesn’t get a reply this time. He sends another one.

_You promised me junk food and a movie._

_Jish._

_Why are you mad at me?_

_I want bro-cuddles._

_Jiiiiiish._

Josh ignores him. He growls. He calls Jenna and explains what happened because five in the morning is the best time to call your wife. She says she knows because Josh called earlier and Mark called as well just to inform her that he’s bringing Tyler home in the next few days. She sounds so sleepy that he wants to shoot himself in the head.

After a couple of minutes he sends another text to his drummer.

_JOSH I FELL DOWN AND I CAN’T GET UP MY LEG HURTS SO BAD_

And Josh bolts through the door five nanoseconds later. He kicks it open and runs into the room barefoot with a panic-painted face. When he spots Tyler on the bed, buried under the covers, he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

„What the heck, Tyler?” The drummer throws his hands above his head. 

„You were ignoring me.”

„Is this a joke to you?” He glares angrily, turns on his heel and reaches for the door handle.

„Josh. Josh! No. Josh, don’t leave!” Tyler says quickly. „Josh! I'm sorry, okay!?” He almost yells to stop the other man from leaving. Josh hesitates. „I’m sorry. I just… Don’t want to be alone. Please stay.” 

„The bed is too small, your leg…”

„Oh, stop it.” Tyler shifts on the bed until there’s enough of space for Josh to easily fit in. „Come on. Hop in. Please?” 

Josh’s hand is still gripping the door handle.

„Why are you being so distant? Since when do I have to beg you to get in bed with me?” He says and blushes because wow, that sounded so sexual. „I mean… I could really use a hug right now.” 

Tyler makes the best impression of a kicked puppy and Josh can’t say no to that. He climbs under the covers, opens his arms and doesn’t need to say anything because Tyler’s head is already on his chest. They try to get comfortable and find a safe position for Tyler’s leg.

„Thank you for being there with me. In the hospital.” Tyler says and Josh hums in response. „If you didn’t show up, they would probably need to knock me out to fix my knee.” Josh hums again and Tyler rolls his eyes. He props himself up on his elbow and looks down at Josh. „Seriously, what’s wrong? You’re angry with me. I can see that. But I don’t understand why. Is this because we had to cancel shows?”

„I’m not angry, I’m tired.”

„You’re a bad liar, Joshua.”

Josh swallows and just lies there for a minute with Tyler hovering above him.

„I’m worried.” He finally says.

„Worried? About what?”

„ _You_.”

„Why would you be?”

„Every show, you give me at least one reason that makes my heart stop. You jump, you climb, you run like you’re possesed.”

„You’ve never been bothered about it before.” Tyler frowns.

„I’ve always been bothered.” Josh says and stares at the ceiling. „I mean, it’s fine when you have fun and just jump around the stage like a child on sugar overdose. It’s fine when you climb speakers, my drums or your pole. But it stops being fun when you do dumb things like climbing the scaffoldings of the big stages. Austin City Limits Festival, Tyler. Seriously? What if one day you lose your balance and fall? And last night? I give you so many hints to stop jumping off the piano like _that_. You jump so dangerously high and you do this stupid spinning thing and you _always_ land at the last moment before you’re supposed to sing. You almost broke your knee. What if next time you break your neck?” Josh finishes quietly. 

Tyler stays silent for a while because that’s definitely not what he expected.

„Have you ever thought of voicing your fears or you just waited for me to read your mind?”

„Tyler, you’re 27. You can do whatever you want. You always laugh it off when I’m concerned anyway, so I didn’t see a point in telling you any of this.”

„You really thought I wouldn’t listen to you?”

„You don’t even listen to Jenna and she’s your _wife_ , why would you listen to _me_?”

„Because I value your opinion?” Tyler offers and Josh snorts. „Because you’re my best friend?”

„Right.”

„We didn’t have to cancel the tour though. I could just sit by the piano the whole show. I could play the ukulele sitting down too. Dave Grohl did that.”

Josh laughs because _seriously_.

„I’m sorry but you’re not Dave Grohl. _Tyler Joseph_ and _sitting down_? These two things really don’t go together.”

„I guess you’re right.” The singer lowers his head back on Josh’s shoulder. „Has anyone made a statement on social media yet?”

„Mark tweeted apologies from the band account and I may or may not have posted a picture of you crying on the stretcher.”

„Dude! Why would you do that? Like I’m not embarrased enough!”

„Well… At least they know you care. I told them to send you some love. So... Your mentions will probably crash at some point once you go online.”


End file.
